Sycamores Top Illinois State In Final Tune-Up Before MVC Championships

by SwimSwam 0

February 01st, 2022 College, News

Indiana State vs Illinois State (W)

  • Saturday, January 29, 2022
  • Terre Haute, Indiana
  • Results
  • Score: Indiana State 186, Illinois State 113

Courtesy: Indiana State Athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State picked up wins in 10 of the 14 swimming events on the day and held top-three finishes in both diving events as the Sycamores topped Illinois State at the Vigo County Aquatic Center, 186-113.

The Sycamores continued their strong stretch of swimming in their final dual meet of the 2021-22 regular season and several athletes continued to standout along the way as Indiana State recorded its third consecutive dual meet win against the Redbirds.

“This afternoon was a solid ending to our dual meet season,” head coach Josh Christensen. “We had some folks really step up and swim well. From here we have to get some folks healthy and sharpen up for the MVC Championships in a little under three weeks.”

Emily Webb continued to shine in what has become her signature event this season as the senior posted her fifth consecutive 200-yard freestyle win. The Carbondale, Ill. native went 1:53.29 to out-touch teammate Rachel Sanqunetti (1:54.82) to continue her winning streak dating back to December 4, 2021.

Sophomore Madie Rutan also continued her strong performances in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke events in sweeping both categories on the day. Rutan’s 55.88 in the 100-yard backstroke marked her third consecutive win in the event as the Roseville, Calif. native topped the field by 2.35 seconds over Illinois State’s Cassidy Carey. Her win in the 200-yard event had a nearly similar margin with Rutan’s time of 2:02.06 sitting 2.53 ahead of teammate Olivia DiRuzza in the win.

Chloe Farro also continued to show why she is one of the top freshmen in the Valley this season as the Savaneta, Aruba native swept the 50 and the 100-yard freestyle events. Farro (24.38) held off teammates Kaimi Matsumoto (24.73) and Carmina Armstrong (24.91) as the Sycamores took the top three spots in the 50-yard event.

The 100-yard freestyle also saw Farro lead the way as the Sycamores placed swept the top three positions and put four in the top five paced by the freshman’s 52.41. Alexandria Cotter (53.38) and Emily Webb (53.46) rounded out the top three on the leaderboard, while Armstrong placed fifth overall in 54.55.

Cotter picked up the individual win in the 100-yard breaststroke event holding off teammate Elle Gilkerson (1:06.20) with a time of 1:05.42. Gilkerson bounced back to take top honors in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:25.06.

Sarah Moreau rounded out the individual winners for the Sycamores on the afternoon as the junior topped the field in the 100-yard butterfly. The Tours, France native led a Sycamore sweep of the top three with her time of 58.07 leading Szadorski (58.34) and Matsumoto (58.49) on the afternoon.

Szadorski and Moreau were both key cogs in the Sycamores relay wins on the afternoon. The duo teamed up with Rutan and Cotter to take first in the 200-yard medley relay to open the meet with a time of 1:45.94. They followed up by joining Farro and Webb in the 400-yard freestyle relay with their time of 3:31.86 putting the Sycamores on top.

Sarah Montgomery paced the Sycamores in the 3M diving event with a score of 250.88. It marked her top score since December 4 and put her second overall in the field. Bailey Betzer was third in both the 3M and the 1M diving events to also sit among the team leaders on the day.

Top ISU Performers in Each Event
200-Yard Medley Relay: First place – Madie RutanAlexandria CotterSarah MoreauAlexa Szadorski (1:45.94)
1000-Yard Free: Second place – Rhiannon Wozny (10:39.31)
200-Yard Free: First place – Emily Webb (1:53.29)
100-Yard Back: First place – Madie Rutan (55.88)
100-Yard Breast: First place – Alexandria Cotter (1:05.42)
200-Yard Fly: Third place – Alexa Szadorski (2:07.47)
50-Yard Free: First place – Chloe Farro (24.38)
3M Diving: Second place – Sarah Montgomery (250.88)
100-Yard Free: First place – Chloe Farro (52.41)
200-Yard Back: First place – Madie Rutan (2:02.06)
200-Yard Breast: First place – Elle Gilkerson (2:25.06)
500-Yard Free: Second place – Rachel Sanqunetti (5:10.46)
100-Yard Fly: First place – Sarah Moreau (58.07)
1M Diving: Third place – Bailey Betzer (238.43)
200-Yard IM: Second place – Alexandria Cotter (2:08.16)
400-Yard Free Relay: First place – Chloe FarroAlexa SzadorskiSarah MoreauEmily Webb (3:31.86)

Up Next
The Sycamores will be back in action at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships running from February 16-19 on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. The four-day event will take place at the UNI Wellness & Recreation Center.

Courtesy: Illinois State Athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – In the final regular season competition for the Redbird swimmers, the Illinois State Swimming & Diving team tallied six wins in this afternoon’s dual against the Indiana State Sycamores at the Vigo County Aquatics Center.

“As a team today, we were focusing on what we could control and improving on details from our last meet,” head swimming coach Caitlin Hamilton said. “I was really happy with how we executed both of those things. The score may not show all the good things that came together today, but these Redbirds are in a great place moving into Championship season.”

Freshman diver Eva Reyes led the way for the ‘Birds, sweeping the diving competition with wins in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. Picking up her seventh and eighth wins of the year and extending her win-streak to four, Reyes scored a total of 256.50 in the 3-meter and 286.28 in the 1-meter.

In the pool, four different Redbirds notched victories in their respective events. Junior Makenna Licking kicked things off for ISU with a near five-second win in the 1,000-yard freestyle, clocking in with a time of 10:34.44.

The ‘Birds put up a 1-2 finish in the 200-yard butterfly with junior Lauren Naeger and senior Sarah Hein taking the top two spots in the event. Naeger recorded a time of 2:05.25 to claim the victory, while Hein followed in 2:07.21 to take the silver.

Coming off her first Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer of the Week honor, sophomore Diana Walker picked up another win in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:08.92, almost two seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Wrapping up ISU’s first-place finishes was sophomore Olivia Gonder in the 200-yard IM, completing a narrow victory with a time of 2:07.76.

In addition to Hein’s second-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, three other Redbirds placed second in their respective events, including sophomore Cassidy Carey in the 100-yard backstroke (58.23), junior Madyson Morse in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:25.62) and junior diver Kamryn Blake in the 1-meter dive (247.73).

As a team, the ‘Birds fell 113-186 to Indiana State.

UP NEXT

The Redbird divers will have one final regular season meet on February 5 at UIC in Chicago, Illinois.

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